Down Ryerson Hill

I love turning the corner and heading down this stretch of road, looking out across to the mountains. I only wish there was more contrast between the sky and the mountains. Maybe another day. Those white patches are big fields, which are so pretty in the summertime when they're green patches.

Shoveling off the roof...

Fenceline in snow...

Here is that same fenceline today...

The horses haven't been up close to it since it rained a couple of weeks ago and the snow crusted over. Since then they have stayed on the beaten down paths, like the ones under those trees. It's just as well since at this point they could pretty much step over the fence!

The puppy thinks it's great to be on eye-level with the horses. They're not quite so sure, though. Yesterday she climbed a snowbank beside our tallest horse and it looked like she was contemplating hopping onto his back. He looked over and gave her the evil eye, so she reconsidered. It made me laugh!

Not again...

In defiance of the weather - it's snowing heavily again - I am posting a photo from last summer. Tomorrow I will show you that same fenceline....

Melting...

We actually had a warm, sunny day today! Everywhere you looked you could see snow sliding off rooftops. You could almost hear them sighing with relief - that stuff is heavy! One of the most interesting balancing acts that I saw was the blanket of snow sliding off the roof of our horse trailer.

This is what it looks like from the other side. So strange that it is sticking together and not just breaking off as it reaches the edge....

Roosters

Here are some of my home-bred roosters. The black one on the left is a bantam Sumatra - my very favorite breed of chicken! The other three were hatched this spring from randomly selected eggs that the boys hatched in the incubator. They are no particular breed, but very colorful and fun to have running around the farm!

Snowbank

It's not everyday (Fortunately!) that our youngest can reach the roof! This shot will seem so unbelievable this summer....

Muscovies

I guess the ducks are tired of standing on the ice...

Needless to say, my husband is less than pleased with the mess on his car! I tried not to laugh because they apparently like his car better than mine....

Determined hen....

Every day we take the eggs out from under this hen and explain to her that it's much too cold to hatch chicks. And every day she invites her lady-friends to lay more eggs under her, assuring them that she will take good care of them. She will certainly be happy when spring finally rolls around and we let her keep a clutch!

On top of a barn...

I'm a big rooster fan(you should see my kitchen!), so I particularly like this weathervane...

Lights on the mountain...

Here is the ski resort photo that I promised you! The lights on Pleasant Mountain make it all sparkly! The ski resort is called Shawnee Peak. It's located in Bridgton, which is about 45 minutes from us. They claim to have the most night skiing in New England. It's been years since I went downhill skiing there, but I do remember that my favorite time was at night. It was so pretty and the majority of the crowds would have headed for home, leaving more room to ski.

There are also some really nice hiking trails on the back of the mountain, which I have hiked. I'll have to try to get up there again this summer. The view is quite incredible...

Townline?

If we get much more snow we won't know what town we're in!


Here's the other side of that sign...

I visited the town website and come up with this information:

"West Paris is a town in Oxford County, settled in 1779 and incorporated in September, 1957. The community, though small, has experienced consistent population growth over the past thirty years."

County: Oxford
School Dist/Dept:MSAD 17
Senate District: 14
House District: 95
Congressional District: 2
Population: 1722
Area: 21.6 sq miles
Pop. Density: 71/sq mile
Longitude: W 70:31:30
Latitude: N 44:19:31

Winter Tree

I don't know about the rest of you, but I find that sometimes the best shots are unplanned. Yesterday evening we drove by an overlook where we could see the lights coming on at the ski resort. I'll be posting those photos another day. As I was running back to the car, trying not to get run over by an approaching car, I snapped this tree, never imaging it was going to be such an awesome shot. It ended up being my favorite of the day and the ski resort will just have to wait!

Icicle

Our oldest was very proud of this BIG icicle! He was really looking forward to smashing it, but I made him wait just a second while I snapped a shot of it. Then he climbed a tall snowbank and exclaimed, "Bombs away!"

Pine cone

So far this tree is bending with the weight of the snow. Lots of other trees have snapped and fallen over...

Slippery steps!

This is why we're using the basement steps today...

Closed for the season...

For some reason, everytime I drive past this sign I think "but only".

This is just one of many businesses that close their doors for the winter. They cater to the summer tourists. On the flip side, there are just as many businesses that are open only in the winter. We are definitely an area that relies on tourism...

Last night's sunset...

Mount Katahdin

I had thought that I would take advantage of this day off from snow to get around town for some photos. Unfortunately, my youngest is sick, so I'm still homebound. I decided to post my favorite photo from a recent snowmobiling trip that we took in Baxter State Park. The park is about 3 hours Northeast of us. The mountain that is peeking out of the clouds is Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine. It's a very challenging mountain in the best of weather - my husband and I have both climbed it - I can only imagine how cold it was up there on that day. While we were riding, the temperature hovered around zero degrees Farenheit, with extreme winds. We're looking forward to taking the boys up in a few years - in the summer! Children are not allowed to climb it until they are 10 years of age, for safety reasons.

Sad doggie...

We take our dog with us everywhere we go. Partly because she's basically our third kid and partly because she has terrible separation anxiety and would tear the house apart if we left her at home! Her reaction to this sign made us wonder if she could read it...

Can I help?

My husband was shoveling a path to the horse pen this morning so that he could bring them their breakfast. They sure were anxious for him to finish!

School anyway...

The superintendent of schools decided that the kids should go to school today, even though it is STILL snowing!! But, there have been so many days off, that the school year is going to run really long into the summer to make up for all the snow days. The kids are not happy about that. We discussed it with our boys' teachers yesterday evening. They are rearranging their teaching curriculum, focusing on the boring 3-Rs now, so that they can do the fun science projects at the end of the year, in the hope that they can keep the students attention when the weather is nice and all the students are anxious to get outside to play...

The road where I took that picture this morning is Route 26, which is a major East/West highway, which is why it's fairly clear. The side roads, on the other hand, were a mess! I drove at a very slow rate of speed and even though my car has good tires, I still found myself slippin' and slidin'. Keeps you awake, right?!

Looking for color...

The last two photos were so dreary that I went looking for some color this morning....

Still snowing....

For those who enjoy winter...

Here is a picture of my youngest checking the ice fishing traps. He's one that doesn't mind all the snow. Good thing since we've gotten several more inches this morning...

Snowy

It's finally stopped snowing! We received another 6 inches today. This is what I saw out my front door this morning....the horses hunched up and grouchy and the puppy getting down in the snow- she loves it!